Meet Our People - Manny's Story

BioLegend

BioLegend

People & HR
Posted on Monday, October 17, 2022

Working at PerkinElmer | Jobs and Careers at PerkinElmer

Meet the people making a difference. Success Stories Happen Here.

Meet Our People

Our company fosters innovation, knowledge sharing and teamwork for long-term success. We are committed to the development of your career, giving you opportunities to learn and grow. Simply put, we make a difference for you, so you can make a difference in the world. Here’s what some of our employees have to say about their experience.

"There's never a day I don't think about how my team truly helps accelerate scientific research."

Leading Next-Generation Technology from Concept to Launch

"When I was a chemist, I always wondered how the products I used for my experiments could be better. I suppose that inquisitive spirit is what brought me to PerkinElmer," said Manny Farag, Gas Chromatography (GC) product manager. Working out of the Company's Shelton, CT site, which manufactures life sciences research instruments for environmental and industrial applications, Manny leverages past experiences using the first-generation Autosystem® GC to lead his team that develops new models. The recently launched Clarus® 590 and 690 GC products are the latest innovations coming from his team of talented engineers and product experts.

Ever since joining the Company six years ago, Manny has played a pivotal role in helping see an array of PerkinElmer's GC products from concept to launch, including the TurboMatrix™ Thermal Desorber and Clarus SQ8MS. "I went from "the bench" where I used these products to managing how and where to upgrade their features so they could remain relevant in this competitive industry," said Manny.

"Honestly, what I enjoy most about my job is the opportunity to be innovative in my problem solving. Sometimes when engineers hit a road block, a project can be stalled for weeks. I try to be methodical in the way I approach these situations by taking the time to listen to their ideas, test the most feasible, and often combine them to find the best resolution," he said.

"Staying close to our customers and continuously monitoring the success of our technology is what keeps me satisfied as a product manager. There's never a day I don't think about how my team truly helps accelerate scientific research," he said. Now that the new Clarus GC instruments have launched, Manny is looking forward to gathering data from customers and cascading insights to his team for the next models to hit the market. Thanks to employees like Manny, PerkinElmer is well positioned to continue driving innovation across the industry.

"Being innovative in my job is second nature. I'm constantly discovering ways to make methods easier and higher performing for the industry."

Advancing Environmental Science Above and Beyond

"What I enjoy most about my job is that it pulls me away from the bench and encourages me to learn the intricacies of our customers' needs and requirements. Every scientist knows that solutions don't come easy, but they're certainly worth the chase," said Lee Marotta, senior field application scientist. Since joining PerkinElmer over 25 years ago, Lee has helped the Company establish a fruitful relationship with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by assisting them in optimizing methods and solutions using our TurboMatrix™ Automated Thermal Desorber (ATD) technology, which is widely considered the "gold standard" in the industry. The EPA uses the instrument to standardize many of its air monitoring applications, such as EPA methods TO-17 and 325, designed to regulate emissions of hazardous air pollutants across the country. Today, Lee's skills and passion for environmental science continues to fuel new innovations being adopted by customers around the world. "When customers need to refine their approach to operating in a sustainable society, they employ solutions that I have the pleasure of working on," said Lee.

As an applications scientist, she is responsible for answering customer calls when technical inquiries are more complex or unique. "Sometimes when customer issues involve lab work, I go as far as testing samples or a specific application to ensure they're left satisfied. Going the extra mile isn't just in my job description, it's in my DNA," she said.

Aside from her work on air, Lee has also enhanced several water and soil methods utilizing PerkinElmer's Clarus® SQ8 GCMS to measure toxic compounds in environmental and industrial samples. "Being innovative in my job is second nature because it requires a lot of critical thinking, scientific expertise, and customer care. I'm constantly discovering ways to make methods easier and higher performing for the industry," she said. Because of Lee's reputation, customers truly value her insight and trust her judgement as they work toward scientific breakthroughs together.

"It's very humbling to learn that customers can improve their science thanks to the work I've done," she said. This year, Lee is looking forward to collaborating with the state of Maryland on real soil vapor intrusion problems proving our solutions protect human health. She also plans to develop two new scientific methods for researchers in the petroleum industry. Lee's approach to solving unique challenges over the last two decades has made her a valued member of PerkinElmer, and we look forward to seeing how her contributions continue to help improve the environment.

"When I go to one of my mentors and let them know that I have learned something new, I am able to apply it in a real project right away which has been extremely helpful to my professional growth and has enabled me to continue achieving my goals."

Giving Back to Empower Others

"Boston-based full stack developer, Samantha Casseus began her software development career in a unique way. After graduating with a psychology degree in 2015, she held a number of different roles but was having difficulty finding fulfillment in her daily work. She’d always had a curiosity for learning how to code and decided that it was time to pursue this interest. Over the next few months, Samantha would come home from her job and teach herself the fundamentals of programming. She enjoyed the problem-solving aspect of coding and became excited about the doors this field could potentially open for her. Knowing that she would need to further her knowledge to make this career a reality, Samantha began researching programs that would help her take her skills to the next level. This is when she found Resilient Coders, a 14-week non-profit coding bootcamp in Boston that offers programs for young people of color to explore opportunities in tech by equipping them with the knowledge and skills to be prepare them for high growth careers as software engineers and connect them with jobs.

Upon graduating from Resilient Coders, Samantha attended a presentation by PerkinElmer’s very first scrum team who shared the programming roles available at the Company and their excitement to hire Resilient Coders’ graduates. She was immediately impressed by the passion the employees showed and how engaged they were talking about not only their individual work, but the bigger impact they were helping the organization make. After spending several years feeling unfulfilled in her career, Samantha found this refreshing, “I felt strongly about finding a community built on collaboration, support, and a shared excitement for coding.” Following interviews with the software development team, Samantha and a fellow Resilient Coders graduate received offers from PerkinElmer and began their careers as junior full stack developers.

After six months on the team and the successful launch of an order visibility project, Samantha has been promoted to full stack developer. She also collaborates with the design team to create a design systems library of components for PerkinElmer’s web applications. Working with various groups across the organization has required Samantha to quickly adapt and understand new processes, acquiring different skills with each project. Her quest to continue learning translates into her work each and every day. For example, after taking a class on user experience, Samantha expressed that she wanted to use the techniques she had learned to support another team at PerkinElmer. Her product owner then connected her with that team, and she was able to collaborate with them to create a new wireframe for their user interface. The ability to contribute in different ways by employing the skills she continues to develop is something that Samantha is grateful for, “When I go to one of my mentors and let them know that I have learned something new, I am able to apply it in a real project right away which has been extremely helpful to my professional growth and has enabled me to continue achieving my goals.”

In addition to her coding and software development work, Samantha is passionate about helping others achieve the same gratification that she has found in a career in tech. Each week, she volunteers at Resilient Coders, tutoring and mentoring the current students. It is important to Samantha to give back to the program that gave her so much as well as inspire her peers to thrive economically, professionally and socially. By finding stability in her own career, and with supportive colleagues at PerkinElmer, she has experienced first-hand the power that you can have to help impact someone’s life. “I wanted to find others that share my enthusiasm for coding and push me to keep reaching my goals, which is exactly what I have found at PerkinElmer. I am excited to be that mentor for someone else now.”

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